WATCH: NJIT Joins America East Conference
NEWARK, NJ -- The America East Conference and New Jersey Institute of Technology announced that the Highlanders will become the 10th full member institution of the America East, effective for the 2020-21 academic year.
NJIT will officially join the league on July 1, 2020.
"We are thrilled to welcome NJIT as America East's 10th member institution," said Amy Huchthausen, Commissioner of the America East Conference. "They will be a great addition to our league and strengthen the academic and athletic profile of our conference."
NJIT will compete for the America East Championships in a total of 14 sports (eight men's sports and six women's sports), including baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, men's lacrosse, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's indoor and outdoor track & field, men's swimming and diving and women's volleyball.
"NJIT is a great fit for the America East Conference," said UAlbany President and America East Board of Presidents Chair, Havidán Rodríguez. "Its reputation as an elite public research institution and its commitment to academic excellence perfectly matches the profile of the conference's institutions. That status combined with its geographic location and athletic aspirations made this an obvious decision. We all look forward to collaborating with and competing against NJIT for years to come."
The current members of the America East Conference are: University at Albany, Binghamton University, University of Hartford, University of Maine, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, University of Massachusetts Lowell, University of New Hampshire, Stony Brook University and University of Vermont.
The Highlanders will be the first addition to the America East Conference since UMass Lowell joined in 2013.
Located in Newark, NJ, NJIT is particularly a great fit for the America East Conference, both academically and geographically. With an enrollment of 11,518, NJIT has been recognized as a Top 100 University by U.S. News & World Report, Top 2% nationwide in Payscale's college salary report, Top School with Best ROI according to Princeton Review, No. 1 Nationally on upward economic mobility by Forbes and 74th nationally in QS World University USA 2020 rankings.
NJIT joins two America East Conference Institutions in the top U.S. News & World Report Top 100 Universities and four Carnegie R1 Research Universities.
"NJIT looks forward to joining our new athletic home, the America East Conference," said NJIT President Dr. Joel Bloom. "The America East is comprised of both peer and aspirant universities, similar to NJIT are classified as among the highest national research universities - R1, nationally ranked in the top 100 of US News and in the top 50 of the public universities. For our student-athletes, they will be playing closer to home, traveling less during this COVID-19 pandemic, and thereby producing cost savings for the university. It is with mixed emotions that we depart the ASUN conference who, like NJIT and the America East, focus on the success of our students academically and athletically. I want to thank our students-athletes, coaching and athletic staff, and AD Lenny Kaplan who contributed mightily to enable this timely move to the America East Conference."
NJIT departs the ASUN Conference after five seasons as a member (first season 2015-16), which marked the first time that the Highlanders had been a full member of an automatic qualifying NCAA Division I multisport conference.
"We are very excited to begin this next chapter of NJIT athletics as a member of the America East Conference," said Associate Vice President/Director of Athletics Lenny Kaplan. "Since the beginning of our Division I journey 15 years ago, the goal has always been to be in a regional conference and aligned with like-minded institutions. The America East provides us with an exceptional opportunity and we are happy to call the America East our new athletics home."
The efforts of the NJIT administration, Highlanders athletic department, and coaching staff have paid off as the Highlanders have achieved national, regional, and local recognition for their accomplishments on the playing field, including honors, titles, and awards earned as a member of the ASUN Conference.
The Highlanders' crowning achievement in the ASUN Conference came this year with a historical run by the men's soccer team which included: capturing the ASUN Conference regular season and tournament titles, advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the first time at the Division I level, becoming the first NJIT team to earn an ASUN title in any sport and picking up four end of the year individual awards: Coach of the Year (Fernando Barboto), Player of the Year (Rene White), Goalkeeper of the Year (Samuel Reisgys) and Freshman of the Year (Alejandro Rabell).
In 2018-19, men's basketball set new program records for wins (22), non-conference victories (13) and road wins (11), including the program's first ASUN Championship win at Florida Gulf Coast, qualifying for the CollegeInsider.com Tournament and earning a vote in the AP Poll for the first time in school-history under head coach Brian Kennedy. Rising senior Zach Cooks led the ASUN Conference in scoring in 2019-20, finishing atop the points per game leader board (19.7ppg), ranking 35th in the nation.
"I want to thank Commissioner Gumbart and the ASUN leadership for their understanding and support in making this happen," Kaplan added. "We have enjoyed our time as a member of the ASUN and it will always have a special place in the history of NJIT Athletics."
NJIT's journey officially began in February 2003, when the Board of Trustees unanimously approved a plan to reclassify men's soccer to Division I from Division II. Within two years, the NCAA approved NJIT's request to begin the reclassification process for its entire athletics program.
Men's soccer began Division I competition in 2004 and the remaining programs began Division I competition in 2006-07. Men's soccer became Division I championship-eligible in 2005 and women's soccer followed in 2007.
The remaining programs, operating under a longer NCAA-mandated reclassification process, became championship-eligible as of September 1, 2009.
NJIT was briefly part of the Great West Conference (2008-13), but the league did not have an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament and subsequently disbanded in 2013.
Most Highlander teams competed without conference affiliation (2013-15) and for the most part were the only teams in Division I to do so in their respective sports. For example, NJIT men's basketball was the only Independent among 351 Division I teams nationwide.
On the campus of NJIT, there are three major athletic facilities: Wellness & Events Center ($110 million multipurpose venue, featuring a 3,500-seat basketball arena); Lubetkin Field at Mal Simon Stadium (an all-weather SprinTurf-covered soccer/lacrosse facility, which includes lights, seating for over 800 spectators, a press box and video board); and the Naimoli Family Athletic and Recreation Facility (a 25,600 square foot indoor recreation center.)
NJIT also sponsors men's and women's fencing, which saw the Highlander men capture back-to-back MACFA Championship titles (2019, 2020), men's and women's tennis and men's volleyball, which competes in the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA). Both fencing and men's volleyball teams combined for five All-American accolades in 2020.
Quotes
For the America East Conference:
UAlbany President and America East Board of Presidents Chair, Havidán Rodríguez
"NJIT is a great fit for the America East Conference. Its reputation as an elite public research institution and its commitment to academic excellence perfectly matches the profile of the conference's institutions. That status combined with its geographic location and athletic aspirations made this an obvious decision. We all look forward to collaborating with and competing against NJIT for years to come."
Amy Huchthausen, Commissioner of the America East Conference
"We are thrilled to welcome NJIT as America East's 10 th member institution. They will be a great addition to our league and strengthen the academic and athletic profile of our conference."
For NJIT:
Dr. Joel Bloom, President of NJIT
"NJIT looks forward to joining our new athletic home, the America East Conference. The America East is comprised of both peer and aspirant universities, similar to NJIT are classified as among the highest national research universities - R1, nationally ranked in the top 100 of US News and in the top 50 of the public universities. For our student-athletes, they will be playing closer to home, traveling less during this COVID-19 pandemic, and thereby producing cost savings for the university. It is with mixed emotions that we depart the ASUN conference who, like NJIT and the America East, focus on the success of our students academically and athletically. I want to thank our students-athletes, coaching and athletic staff, and AD Lenny Kaplan who contributed mightily to enable this timely move to the America East Conference."
Lenny Kaplan, NJIT Associate Vice President/Director of Athletics
"We are very excited to begin this next chapter of NJIT athletics as a member of the America East Conference. Since the beginning of our Division I journey 15 years ago, the goal has always been to be in a regional conference and aligned with like-minded institutions. The America East provides us with an exceptional opportunity and we are happy to call the America East our new athletics home."
"Although they have competed well and succeeded in the classroom, it has not been easy on our student athletes with the long distance travel and extended road trips. This is a huge step that is in the best interest of the welfare of our student-athletes and in the continued growth of our athletics program."
"I want to thank Commissioner Gumbart and the ASUN leadership for their understanding and support in making this happen. We have enjoyed our time as a member of the ASUN and it will always have a special place in the history of NJIT Athletics."
Michael Siegel, Faculty Athletic Representative
"It is very exciting to be a part of the America East Conference, which is a perfect fit for NJIT. The conference has top academic schools with excellent athletic programs, and it will be great to be associated with them. NJIT has made amazing strides in the past few years, and the move to the America East will help raise our name recognition, both on and off the field, to the next level."
Head Men's Basketball, Brian Kennedy
"The NJIT Men's Basketball program is ecstatic to call the America East Conference our new home. We would like to thank our tremendous leaders, President Joel Bloom and Athletic Director Lenny Kaplan, for their tireless efforts to make this happen. We would also like to express our gratitude to the ASUN staff, institutions, coaches, administrators and student athletes for our great experience. Time to roll up our sleeves and get to work as January 2nd Is fast approaching."
Head Women's Basketball, Mike Lane
"NJIT Women's Basketball is thrilled to join the America East Conference. We bid a grateful goodbye to the ASUN which has been an amazing home for our program for the last five seasons, but this move makes so much sense for our institution, department and program. We will reap immediate returns on the academic, athletic and geographic fits provided by the America East. We have been building our program over these past two years to compete at a higher level, and look forward to doing so in the America East."
Head Women's Soccer, Ally Nick
"The move to the America East is going to benefit our University, our Athletic Department, Our program and most importantly our student-athletes' well being. The ASUN was good to us and I was happy to see the progress the conference and women's soccer made during the time we were members. I am very excited to join the America East and the very high quality of women's soccer. For our program, our goal of winning a championship doesn't change, we just have a new home!"
Head Men's Soccer, Fernando Barboto
"We are very excited and motivated to be entering the America East this fall. It's one of the top soccer conferences in the country. We look forward to studying and preparing for our new conference opponents, as well as honorably representing the America East nationally. We won't be able to defend our titles in the ASUN but new trophies are to be sought after in the America East and this will drive us to prepare and be hungrier than ever."
NJIT SAAC President, Michaela Dungan, Women's Volleyball
"The America East Conference presents an exceptional opportunity to compete with schools that have similar academic and athletic goals. We are proud to be ASUN built, but look forward to fostering new friendships with the other America East teams."
"On a personal note, I would like to thank the exceptional student-athletes I have worked with within the ASUN Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. This group is formidable and inspiring, and has been an honor to work with the past two years."
